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Eric Schlosser, the author of “Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal,” will be speaking at St. Bonaventure University on Nov. 15 in the Reilly Center Arena.

“It will be nice to have a famous author on campus,” said freshman Patrick Hammer.

“Fast Food Nation” was the All Bonaventure Reads pick of this year. One All Bonaventure Reads book is chosen each year with the expectation that UNIV 101 instructors will incorporate the themes of the book into their classes. The book has prompted discussions about ethics, health care, the roles of the media and economics.

Being able to bring an author to the University helps “bring a sense of reality to the book,” said Nichole Gonzalez, the director of Residence Life and a member of the All Bonaventure Reads committee. She explains that when the All Bonaventure Reads committee chooses a book, the ability to bring the author to campus to speak is a large factor.

“We read the book, but now we can hear his side,” said freshman Kevin McGarr.

Gonzalez said Schlosser could choose to talk about a wide range of topics relating to “Fast Food Nation,” including social justice issues such as migrant labor and animal rights.

The keynote lecture, sponsored by the First-Year Experience program, follows a dinner where some first-year students, chosen through their University 101 classes, will have the opportunity to dine with Schlosser.

“To meet an author of any book would be exciting,” said freshman biology major Kate Meyer, “and to see the insight he has on the society we live in.”

The keynote lecture is open to the campus and surrounding community.

-Brianne Rehac
Class of '10

There's help in an emergency

Missing only one day of classes can set a student back. An extended time away can leave the student scrambling to get back on track. But when students face the need for a long absence, St. Bonaventure has suggestions to help students and their parents be certain people on campus know what's happening and can help the students adjust and meet their academic responsibilities when they return.

If it's a family emergency, trained professionals are available to help the student deal with the situation. Members of the University Ministries team encourage families to contact them at the onset of an emergency so they can be with the student so she is not alone when she receives the news.

“We reach out to the student along with Residence Life with a mutual effort to help the student in need,” said Robert Donius, vice president for University Ministries. A parent can reach University Ministries by calling its secretary, Debby Mooney, at
(716) 375-2600.

The University recommends that students who will be gone from campus for a family emergency notify the University through either the Office of Student Life or through the Provost’s Office. Professionals from either office may communicate with other parties as needed.

Roger Keener, director of Counseling Services and acting vice provost for student life, said when the student returns to school it is his responsibility to contact professors and arrange to catch up on academic work.

When a student returns after the loss of a family member, University ministers and counselors are available to help her adjust to the loss. Donius said the student can always go to University Ministries or talk to the minister–in-residence in her residence hall. The Counseling Center, located on the second floor of the Reilly Center, has three counselors available by appointment from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays until 8:30 p.m. Students and parents can reach the Counseling Center at (716) 375-2310.

-Deandra Danch
Class of '09

Get it right at the Writing Lab

The Writing Lab in the Teaching and Learning Center gives students the opportunity to have peers edit their papers for any class.

Located in the basement of Doyle Hall, two senior journalism/mass communication majors are available for a total of 14 hours each week to meet with students of any major to review their papers and help them with writing and language skills.

Students seeking help can set up an appointment ahead of time and e-mail their paper to one of the tutors at least 24 hours before the appointment, which is the preferred way of asking for help. When a student e-mails his or her paper to the tutor prior to the appointment, the tutor will take the opportunity to read over the paper to prepare for the next day’s appointment.

They can also stop by with their paper for a walk-in appointment.

The student and tutor read the paper aloud together and the tutor makes suggestions at the end of each paragraph. During the session, the tutor has a checklist of common writing mistakes, including grammar, punctuation, spelling and style errors. Rather than simply correct any mistakes, the tutor explains a grammar rule and teaches the student how to correctly write the sentence. Students are expected to correct their own papers as they go through them with the tutor.

For example, a common grammar mistake is noun/pronoun disagreement. If the student writes, “The committee decided their policy is outdated,” the tutor would explain why the pronoun “they” is incorrectly used. In this case, “committee” is a singular noun so the proper pronoun would be “its.”

Students can also schedule weekly or biweekly appointments to review writing techniques and grammar rules. During these sessions, students can come with specific questions or bring homework from their English or journalism classes to review with the tutor. Students are expected to complete the assignment on their own and the tutor will review it with them, offering an explanation of the assignment’s topic.

Some students need help organizing an essay. If students bring notes with them, tutors can help them outline the essay. The key to this, however, is tutors will only make suggestions as to how to write the essay; they will not write the essay for the student.

Although the tutors are trained in journalism/mass communication, students of all majors are welcome to meet with them. While tutors may not be able to help with the content of a given paper, they can generally help with language-use editing.

Because of the tutors’ background and experience within the journalism school, they are also able to offer advice to younger journalism/mass communication majors regarding any questions they may have about the program.

All Writing Lab appointments are confidential.

Writing Lab tutors are available Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays from 1 to 2 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 2 p.m., Thursdays from 1 to 2 p.m. and 2:30 to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students can call (716) 375-2066 to schedule an appointment, preferably a few days before an assignment is due.

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